Soul food recipes continue to maintain popularity among consumers. The Great Recession is credited for the growing popularity. Because the dishes have the reputation of sticking to the ribs or having staying power. For example, eating the average soul food meal stays with the average person 2 to 3 hours longer than Chinese food. And it stays up to an hour longer than Italian food, which came in second place in this University of California study.

These recipes have helped many African American families make it through the hardest times in this Nations history. Many medical professionals have questioned the health concerns of traditional this traditional southern cuisine. Why? Because of the high salt, fat and calorie content. But like most cuisines that stand the test of time, It’s adapting to the changing concerns of consumers.

Now healthy soul food is one of the fastest growing cuisines. You can now find more restaurants, food manufacturers and even recipe website publishers adapting to this new trend. By offering more menu items with less salt, fat and calorie content continues to grow healthier.

Here’s the most viewed questions for the month of August 2010. Many of the questions reflect the health concerns more consumers have concerning their diets.

1. What’s The Best Substitute For Using Fatback and Ham Hocks?

Fat back and ham hocks used to be staples for seasoning soul food dishes. For example, collard greens, black eyed peas, pinto beans and other southern vegetable dishes. But because of the high content of fat, calories and sodium, many people have turned to smoked turkey necks as a healthier alternative. Smoked turkey necks have low fat and sodium content, in addition to having the benefit of giving food that smokey, flavorful taste.

2. I Have To Cut Out Deep Fried Foods Because of Health Concerns. What’s the Healthiest Alternative for Fried Dishes?

A healthier alternative to deep frying food is what’s called oven frying, this is one of the fastest growing cooking techniques, because of the health benefits it has over deep frying. It has many benefits, especially for people with heart problems, weight issues and for those who want to avoid them.

Done properly, oven frying can give you the same taste benefits of deep frying. For example, the tasty – crunchy texture, without the health dangers. Now you’ll find more people enjoying oven fried chicken, french fries, onion rings, shrimp and all the other popular foods.

3. I Love Soul Food Desserts. But I Must Cut Back On Sugar, What’s The Best Sugar Substitute That Doesn’t Taste Like Motor Oil?

One of the best alternatives to white sugar that you can use in desserts is Agave nectar or Agave syrup. Compared to sugar it has less health concerns. It’s about 31% sweeter than sugar, so you can use less. It’s excellent in cookies, pies, cobblers and other places you would normally use white sugar.

Another advantage of using Agave has little to no affect on blood sugar or insulin levels, making it an excellent health alternative to granulated sugar. You can often find Agave in the health food section of most supermarkets or in health food stores and also online.You can also find many healthy cooking tips on many free soul food recipes websites.